Attorney Marc Colin, left, talks with former Boulder Police officer Sam Carter during the filing of charges on Thursday, Feb. 7, at the Boulder County Jail. Carter and Brent Curnow, are being charged for the killing of a bull elk on Mapelton Avenue in Boulder.
Jeremy Papasso/ Camera (JEREMY PAPASSO)

The pair of former Boulder police officers accused of planning and carrying out the New Year's Day shooting and disposal of a trophy elk on Mapleton Hill were formally charged Thursday with four felonies and five misdemeanors apiece.

Sam Carter, 35, and Brent Curnow, 38, who resigned from the Boulder Police Department last month, appeared before Judge Noel Blum in the Boulder County Jail's small courtroom Thursday afternoon for their first court appearance in the case, which has drawn considerable outrage from the community.

Both men were charged with two counts of tampering with physical evidence, a Class 6 felony, one count of forgery, a Class 5 felony, and one count of attempting to influence a public official, a Class 4 felony.

Additionally, Carter and Curnow were charged with first-degree official misconduct, illegal possession of a trophy elk with a Samson Law surcharge, conspiracy to commit illegal possession of wildlife, unlawfully taking of a big game animal out of season, and unlawful use of an electronic communication device to unlawfully take wildlife.

Those five charges are all misdemeanors.

The duo, who were arrested Jan. 18 and released on $20,000 personal recognizance bonds, both appeared under advisement of private legal counsel.

Waiting for documents

They declined to comment on the case following the hearing, but their attorneys briefly spoke to reporters.

"There were no particular surprises based on what we discussed before," Patrick Mulligan, Curnow's lawyer, said of the charging hearing.

Mulligan said he and Carter's attorney, Marc Colin, were still waiting to receive copies of police reports and other information important to the case, and decisions on how best to defend their clients would hinge on those materials.

"I believe we'll learn much once we receive discovery," Colin said. "At this point, you folks have more information on this case than we do."

One of the non-media observers in the courtroom Thursday was Rita Anderson, a policy and investigations specialist with In Defense of Animals, the nonprofit animal rights organization that last month launched a fund to pay for a permanent memorial to the fallen elk.

"I'm glad they are being charged with felony charges," Anderson said following the hearing. "A concern I have is that (the district attorney) did not file charges of felony aggravated cruelty to animals. This episode does fit the criteria for that.

"I would encourage anyone in the area that feels there should be felony aggravated cruelty to animals charges to contact the district attorney either by phone or by email."

Internal investigations

According to an arrest affidavit, Carter told police the day after the shooting that he encountered an elk while on patrol near Mapleton Avenue and Ninth Street late Jan. 1 that he said was injured and needed to be put down. Carter then shot the animal with a shotgun, and Curnow -- who was off-duty -- came to pick up the carcass with the help of on-duty Boulder County sheriff's Deputy Jeff George.

Carter did not report the incident or notify his supervisors he fired his weapon that night.

According to an arrest affidavit, cell phone records show the shooting was premeditated. In the text messages between Carter and Curnow, Carter can be seen referring to the elk as early as 2:56 a.m. Jan. 1 -- almost 20 hours before the shooting.

Carter and Curnow resigned after an internal investigation was launched by the Boulder Police Department. When asked outside the jail Thursday about the resignations, attorneys for both men declined to comment.

George also remains under investigation by the Boulder County Sheriff's Office, but he has not been arrested in connection with his role in the disposal of the elk.

Boulder District Attorney Stan Garnett on Thursday reiterated that, at this point, there is no hard evidence linking George to criminal activity in the case.

"If admissible evidence develops that warrants charging (George), he will be charged," Garnett said. "But in the meantime, he is presumed innocent and should be treated as such."

Curnow and Carter are next scheduled to appear in court at the Boulder County Justice Center for a status conference at 9 a.m. April 4.

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